[SPOILERS] Secret Squad! [SPOILERS]

[Kerensky]

So after finally RNGing my way through a hundred mountains to get Distant Friends achievement, I was able to clean up the last lingering achievements I needed to unlock the secret squad.

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1318277470

I have to say, it's very interesting. Not having pilot carry over is a huge bummer, but unlocking an additional paint scheme for all squads is a great little perk. I haven't played them much yet, but I did notice right away they seem to be a little short on firepower, all of their base abilities only deal 1 damage.... Kinda like Steel Judoka, but at least they have 3 attackers instead of 2.

I do look forward to trying them out in some custom squads for sure though! (yes you can put them in custom squads along side normal Mechs!)

Anyone else unlock these units yet, what do you think of them?

[Kahrkura]

I unlocked them, but haven't tried them out as I'm currently trying to get the last two pilots. At first glance they look decent, all being able to damage and move hostile Veks.

[asdf]

I have them unlocked, and while they're an interesting gimmick they seem horribly underwhelming to me - probably one of the weakest teams. They don't have good pilots (and you can't carry over a character), they don't have good abilities and their second weapons all cost +1 power to equip because they don't have regular classes - what's even the point? I think the only squad that's worse than them is the hazardous mechs squad, maybe the fire squad too but that's a bit close..

[Kerensky]

I'm really not liking them as their own squad, primarily for the reason you don't get pilots and you can't carry time travellers over...

But as a single addition to a custom squad, I'm really liking these guys. 1 less pilot to worry about means selling more spare pilots for rep, and once you put a little bit of upgrades into the flyer, it becomes a murder machine. Flying, 1-3 damage in a row 1-3 long, and knockback creates a very flexible unit that can bring the pain when you need it, but still can push stuff around too.

[Istarune]

One of the weaker starting squads, but one of the strongest ending squads.

[Kerensky]

The damage potential of the Flyer is incredible after a few upgrades. I think I'll try and fit it into my best Hard Mode Custom Team.

[pop pop]

A bit dissapointing that they dont have any achievements like every other team.

[Nermanater]

Originally posted by Istarune:

One of the weaker starting squads, but one of the strongest ending squads.

Yeah, if you can make it off your first island, get a pilot or two leveled up and a couple reactors - G ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ G

[Pluto]

Go check out the wasp's upgrades.... +1 range AND damage....twice. No one else has that. Ditto the artillary. +1 square affected by its attack making it knock back on like 6 different squares.

[robofish126]

They feel an awful lot like the Riftwalkers, focused entirely on conventional damage and pushing with no gimmicks. Their standout unit is Techno-Hornet, who upgrades from 1 to 2*2 damage for 2 reactor cores, which in conjunction with flying allows it to effortlessly dish out tons of damage or deliver pushes right where you need it.

[Daid]

Originally posted by asdf:

I think the only squad that's worse than them is the hazardous mechs squad

Wut?
The hazard squad is a killer. If you put the mantis pilot in the science mech, then this squad can output damage like nothing else I've done so far. And next to all that damage, you can also push with every mech... the leap can be a bit tougher to aim. But after the upgrade really ties this squad together.

[wwarnick]

Originally posted by asdf:

I think the only squad that's worse than them is the hazardous mechs squad, maybe the fire squad too but that's a bit close..

I picked the hazardous mechs for my first Hard run and I beat it on my first try. I love that squad. If you upgrade the damage on the Unstable Mech and the healing on the Nano Mech, then bosses and alpha vek are a cakewalk. It's important to upgrade their health early on and upgrade the healing before you start upgrading damage. If done right, they're awesome. Also, note that if an attack brings their health to zero, but you still deal a killing blow to activate the nanobots, the pilot will survive. It's risky, but it's saved my bacon many times.

As for the fire squad, they're not my favorite since fire only deals 1 damage per turn, which isn't as useful for alphas and especially bosses. They're more effective in the early game, I feel. That said, maybe I just haven't mastered their strategy yet. I still really enjoy playing them.

[Drain]

The secret squad is junk. For 100% achievements, you'd expect better than unlocking the worst squad in the game. It's an inferior version of rift walkers, without pilots, and without matching a class to any system in the game. The game will still offer all its normal pilots and systems, nothing unique for the squad like you'd expect, and you'll toss them all to the trash. The squad doesn't do anything special. The dialogue boxes don't even change to reflect that you're using giant bugs, you know, the things everyone are being killed by. They could at least have given the squad a unique cyborg system. But they basically give it nothing. You'd expect something really fancy for all your work, not this.

[Torus]

Originally posted by Drain:

They could at least have given the squad a unique cyborg system.

They did. Your 3 pilots never die, they just regenerate a the cost of a big chunks of XP, which makes it harder to level them up. But they do level up, and you don't lose everything if they get killed.
(Not that that's a very good ability IMHO, as it makes them barely better that the generic pilots.)

And at least any pilots you can find can be donated for reputation to fund cores. Which is good, because winning with the squad pretty much relies on gettting your weapons upgraded as fast as you can. They start of weak, but when fully powered they get very strong..

[Cute Tea Goat]

They were alright. Honestly, the +1 tile for the artillery unit felt like more of a liability than a benefit most of the time. I'd probably skip it.

[Ruzzian]

First Impression, wow these guys are weak! wtf, i expected some OP mechs.

After 1st island and some Rector Cores, Decent.

3rd & 4th islands, lolololol get wrecked vek! Cant touch me.

Its a late game squad, still feel a bit underwelmed with them being secret/costing 25 coins

Final impression: so/so squad, BUT the flier Vek is easily one of the BEST mechs for custom squads, my gawd its OP once you got the range upgraded